Easy German Grammar: How to Use “Welcher” and “Dieser” (A1 Level)
In German, words change their endings depending on the gender of the noun (masculine, feminine, or neuter) and its role in the sentence.
Today, we will look at how welcher and dieser change in the two most common cases:
-
Nominativ: Used for the subject (the person or thing doing the action).
-
Akkusativ: Used for the direct object (the person or thing receiving the action).
1. Masculine Nouns (der) — Watch the Changes!
Masculine words like der Hund (the dog), der Film (the movie), or der Kuli (the pen) are special because they change their endings in the Akkusativ case.
-
Nominativ (Subject): The ending is -er.
-
Welcher Hund ist deiner? (Which dog is yours?)
-
Dieser Kuli ist blau. (This pen is blue.)
-
-
Akkusativ (Object): The ending changes to -en.
-
Welchen Hund magst du? (Which dog do you like?)
-
Ich kaufe diesen Kuli. (I am buying this pen.)
-
2. Quick Overview Table for All Genders
To keep it simple at the A1 level, here is how the endings work for masculine, feminine, and neuter words:
| Gender | Case | Welcher (Which) | Dieser (This) | Example Sentence |
| Masculine (der) |
Nominativ Akkusativ |
welcher welchen |
dieser diesen |
Dieser Film ist gut. (This movie is good.) Ich mag diesen Film. (I like this movie.) |
| Feminine (die) |
Nominativ Akkusativ |
welche welche |
diese diese |
Welche Tasche ist das? (Which bag is that?) Ich nehme diese Tasche. (I take this bag.) |
| Neuter (das) |
Nominativ Akkusativ |
welches welches |
dieses dieses |
Welches Buch liest du? (Which book are you reading?) Ich lese dieses Buch. (I am reading this book.) |
A1 Secret Tip: Notice that for Feminine (die) and Neuter (das) words, the endings stay exactly the same in both cases! Only Masculine (der) changes from -er to -en.
Practice Sentences to Read Out Loud
Try reading these simple examples to practice your pronunciation:
-
Welcher Film gefällt dir? (Which movie do you like?)
-
Dieser Film ist sehr interessant. (This movie is very interesting.)
-
Welchen Film hast du gesehen? (Which movie did you see?)